WASHINGTON, D.C.—Family Research Council’s Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI) today issued its fifth annual “Index of Family Belonging and Rejection.” The Index charts the present intactness of the family in the U.S. by examining the proportion of fifteen- to seventeen-year-olds who grew up in an intact, married family. The “State of the Black Family” report will also be released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the 1965 release of Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s report on the black family.

Study highlights include:

• The Index of Family Belonging: The percentage of U.S. teenagers aged 15 to 17 who have grown up with both biological parents always married is 46 percent. The biological parents of the remaining 54 percent are either no longer married, or never did marry.
• Since 1950, the Index of Belonging for U.S. teenagers has decreased by 17 percent (from 63 percent to 46 percent).
• The Index of Belonging is 17 percent for black teenagers compared to 54 percent for white teenagers. This marks a 21 percent decrease in family belongingness for black teenagers since 1950, and a 13 percent decrease for white teenagers. The impacts of this disparity can be seen in the charts on poverty, education and welfare dependency.

Source: frc.org